Field of the Invention
The field of this invention relates generally to the field of pin light assemblies for use in portable spas, and more particularly toward an improved single LED light employing an elastomeric grommet seal.
Description of the Prior Art
Portable spas are popular means for providing relaxation and recovery from exertion to the body. Portable spas are often employed after dark in which case lights are employed inside of the spa to illuminate the spa for the occupants. In a typical scenario, pin lights, i.e., single LED light assemblies are often employed for this purpose. In a typical assembly, there is a relatively small light lens that is illuminated by the single LED light source. A transparent or translucent light lens creates a finished appearance for such LED lighting.
The front face of the light lens can be of varying design and can have any number of patterns. The light lens doubles as a flange and has a cylindrical tube extruded from the back side of the lens with an inner diameter large enough to accommodate a single LED light within the tube in which the pin light is housed. The outer diameter of the cylindrical tube could be smooth to accept an elastomeric grommet or it could be threaded for use with a nut. The benefit for using an elastomeric grommet for installation, rather than a nut, is that the elastomeric grommet can be installed more quickly, which reduces labor costs and speeds up production.
The elastomeric grommet seal is formed by radial compression within a hole in the spa substrate caused by a tube diameter of the light lens being larger than the inner diameter of the elastomeric grommet, which forces the elastomeric grommet to compress tightly against the inner diameter of the hole. A significant negative point when the elastomeric grommet is employed in the standard single LED pin light assembly is that the elastomeric grommet outer diameter requires a larger flange and outer diameter of the light lens than is required by the nut style assembly. The larger flange is required because of the fixed size of the LED coupled with the minimum thickness of the light lens tube surrounding the LED. Further, the thickness of the elastomeric grommet surrounding the light lens tube needs to be large enough for the flange to overlap hole in the substrate, i.e., the spa wall because the hole must accommodate the elastomeric grommet, light lens tube and LED with the hole inner diameter. This limits the viability of employing an elastomeric grommet seal, because of the desired effect of having a small pin point of light.
It is the object of the instant invention to provide an improved assembly that overcomes other shortcomings of the prior art.
It is a further object of the instant invention to provide a smaller surface area of the pin of the light lens which is easier to install into the elastomeric grommet than the standard light lens with a cylindrical tube that is larger than the LED that is installed within the tube. In the instant invention, the surface area of the pin is greatly reduced when compared to the surface are of the cylinder. Another object of the invention is to provide the option for a small perimeter or small diameter light lens as possible in an improved elastomeric grommet installation system.